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Masquerade
"Masquerade" is the third episode of season 2, and the 26th produced hour of Person of Interest. It originally aired on October 18, 2012. Synopsis A man makes a call and says that someone is making a play to be the man in charge. He assures the man he's calling that he'll take care of it and dispose of the loose ends. Later, another man is thrown out a window in the city and falls to his death. At the Library, Reese is trying to track down Root and quickly shuts down the computers when Finch comes in. Reese suggests that they go get a beer if Finch wants. Finch points out that Bear is sleeping there and isn't reassured when Reese tells him that the dog is staying there. He notices that Reese has been doing work on Root, and Reese puts the files away and says that they have a new number: Sofia Campos, the 21-year-old daughter of a Brazilian diplomat. Reese goes to the Brazilian consulate while Finch briefs him on Sofia's background over the earbud. Sofia deferred admission to Oxford and traveled with her father, Hector. Hector's political party was accused of fraud in the last election and Finch warns that a political kidnapping is likely given that Hector is running for the presidency of Brazil. Meanwhile, Reese watches as Sofia and her bodyguard walk down the street. She dismissively tells the bodyguard to stay put to go into the store, but he goes in with her. Reese secretly steals a watch and plants it on the bodyguard, and the security guards arrest him while Reese figures that Sofia will need a new bodyguard. At the station, Fusco brings in a box and gets Carter off in private. He then shows her that it was in Agent Corwin's hotel room. There's a microchip reader inside and Carter wants to keep digging, but Fusco figures that it isn't necessary now that they have Finch back. Carter refuses to drop it and asks for the box, and Fusco warns her that they're in over their heads. Finch makes sure that Reese's background story holds up when the consulate checks on it, while Reese goes in for an interview. He pickpockets the wallets of the other candidates and shows them to the secretary. Hector, watching, is impressed and invites Reese in. The ambassador admits that Sofia is impossible and his own people can't keep up to her. Hector also isn't sure who among his fellow citizens he can trust. Sofia comes in and she immediately dismisses Reese, and her father hires Reese on the spot. She reminds Reese that he works for her and then reminds her father that he's missing a dinner with the Russian consul. The Russian arrives and Sofia accepts his offer for dinner, saying in Russian that Reese is an oaf. He knows what she's saying and tells her that he wasn't hired to babysit her, much to Hector's amusement. Reese tries to clone her phone and discovers that she's turned it off, and Finch tells him that he'll have to activate her phone manually. Meanwhile, Sofia begs off the dinner, saying she has a headache, and goes to her room. That night, Sofia tries to sneak out and finds Reese waiting for her. He escorts her to the car and spots two men across the street watching them. As he approaches them, they drive off and Reese gives Finch the partial plates. Sofia goes to a club where her friend Gabi greets her. Gabi is impressed with Reese but Sofia refuses to let him into the club. Reese insists and she reluctantly lets him in. While he watches Sofia, Reese checks in with Finch, who claims that Bear is distracting him. Finch puts a ball on the floor while Sofia drinks her seventh vodka shot and dances up on the bar. When someone tries to take photos up her skirt, Reese grabs her and carries her out. The next day, Sofia tells her father to fire Reese. He assures Hector that no one photographed her behavior and the ambassador thanks him and tells Sofia that her attendance is required for a photo op at noon. She tells Reese that they're going shopping while Finch warns his partner that Hector is stepping up his photo ops and will draw more attention. Carter confirms that Corwin had an RFID reader. Finch calls her and assures her that he's doing fine, and thanks her for helping Reese track him down. He then asks her about the partial plate and Carter confirms that it belongs to a car rental agency. He then checks in with Reese, who admits that he hasn't been able to get to Sofia's phone. She continues shopping, ignoring Reese's warning that it's time for the photo op. Meanwhile, Finch reluctantly plays fetch with Bear and then tells Reese that he hacked Sofia's GPS signal and she's on the move. Reese goes out and follows Finch's directions to where Sofia is approaching a man. He kisses her and Reese realizes that the man, Jack, is Sofia's boyfriend. After Jack introduces himself, he takes off and Sofia tells Reese that he doesn't understand and neither does her father. When they get back to the consulate, Hector complains about his daughter missing the photo op and Reese takes the blame. He tells Reese to make sure and have Sofia there for the welcoming party for the Brazilian president. Once Hector leaves, Sofia thanks Reese and explains that her father would want her to date someone less American. She goes, leaving her purse behind, and Reese turns on her phone and clones it. Carter goes to the morgue to check on Corwin's body. She spots Agent Snow coming out and calls to him, and he tells her that he's no longer looking for Reese. He's been reassigned and tells Carter that it's a shame. As he walks off, Carter points out that he hurt his leg and Snow says that it's an old mistake. The attendant, Rick, tells Carter that Snow was there to examine Corwin's body. Carter checks out the body as well and notices a 2" incision on the upper arm. Rick says that it was inflicted after the autopsy was performed. When Carter wonders how he remembers, Rick explains that Snow asked about it as well. That night, Finch calls Reese and informs him that Gustavo Lira, a private investigator from San Paolo, rented the car. Sofia discovers she has a message from Gabi saying that something happened to a guy, Paul, from the other night. There's no Paul in her call list and Reese tells Finch that he'll try to work out who she's talking about. Sofia comes down and tells Reese that she's going clubbing and willingly goes with him. As they drive to the club, Sofia tries to call Gabi but gets no response. The men from before pull up at the next spotlight... and take photos of Sofia. Reese realizes that he's paparazzi, destroys the memory chip in the camera, and drives away. Carter calls the phone number that Snow gave her and a woman answers. When Carter asks if Snow is there, a man comes on the phone and asks where she saw Snow. When she asks who she's speaking to, the man says that they'll be in touch and hangs up. At the club, Reese watches as Sofia looks around for Gabi. Two armed men move on Sofia and Reese takes them out. Another man opens fire from the overhead catwalk and Reese uses one of the attackers to block the shot. He takes a photo of one of the unconscious men, who has a scar behind his ear, and then gets Sofia out. Later, Reese sends the photos to Carter and she confirms that the scar is a brand and used by gang members. She promises to pursue the matter and find out which gang. Reese has taken Sofia to a safe house and makes her a meal, and she explains that she and Gabi went with a man, Paul Romano, when Jack went home early. Sofia assures Reese that nothing happened between her and Paul. Finch checks Paul's record and discovers that he's a club promoter and small-time drug dealer. He figures that Sofia's in trouble because of Paul and confirms that he died in an apparent suicide after jumping from the penthouse. Reese questions Sofia and she explains that another man showed up and things got weird. She has a photo that Gabi took of the man and Reese recognizes him as the shooter at the nightclub. Reese tells her that Paul is dead and that it probably wasn't a suicide. Sofia wants to find Gabi, figuring that she'll be in danger, and Reese tells her to stay there. The woman insists on going and Reese reluctantly takes her along. The next morning, Finch continues playing with Bear and enhancing the image on the video. Once he identifies the killer, he calls Carter, who confirms that the gang with the brand are the 14th Street Mafia. Finch emails her the photo of Paul and the man he met with. She tells Finch that the penthouse cameras malfunctioned when Paul supposedly committed suicide. Carter doesn't recognize the shooter but confirms that he has the same scar. Finch asks her to track Gabi's cell phone and Carter promises to take care of it. Once he hangs up, Finch offers to take Bear on a walk and figures that the dog will want some treats. As he gets them, he sees the file on Root that Reese put together. Reese calls Carter who tells her that she traced Gabi's phone... to the morgue. Later, Reese takes Sofia to a park and asks Finch to watch her while he looks for Gabi's killer. Finch takes Bear with him to the park, but hesitates at the door before finally going out. As he crosses the street, Finch suddenly freezes and then looks around desperately. He finally goes back to the library, panting, and calls to tell Reese that he can't meet him. Reese says that it isn't a problem and that he'll call in Fusco. Sofia tells Reese that she can't go back to the consulate and play hostess, but he tells her that it's a matter for the police. She blames herself, saying that she was the one who insisted that Gabi go out with her that night. Reese tells her that it isn't her fault but Sofia admits that she has been lost for a long time, trying to find someplace where she could be happy. Reese tells her that he knows what it feels like and that someone found him and told him that he needed a purpose. Finch listens in via the earbud as Sofia says that the man who told Reese that was a good friend, and Reese agrees that he is. Reese leaves Sofia with Fusco and assures her that the detective will be at the party. Sofia chuckles and explains that Fusco reminds her of her uncle, who has great luck with the ladies. That night, Carter IDs the shooter as Monty Spencer and calls Reese with the information. Paul started moving large qualities of designer drugs recently but neither of them had the money to bankroll that kind of operation. She gives Reese the address of a bar where Monty and his gangers hang out and goes to meet him there. Fusco escorts Sofia to the welcoming party at a museum. As Hector greets her, Finch checks in with Fusco and then reviews the footage from the penthouse and spots another man in the background. Reese and Carter arrive at the bar and he asks her to let him handle it alone for four minutes. He goes in and a man comes flying out the door a few seconds later. Hector addresses the crowd and announces that he's running for the Brazilian presidency. Sofia tries to approach her father but can't get through the crowd. She asks Fusco for a moment alone and he escorts her to a private room and waits outside. Once she's alone, Sofia calls Jack and says that she can't get away. He tells her that he's right outside. Reese disposes of the last man as another ganger runs inside and opens fire. Carter comes in and shoots him, and Reese admits that none of them told him where to find Monty. Finch calls to tell his partner that he's confirmed that there was another man at the penthouse: Jack Hughes, who bankrolled the drug operation. Finch calls Fusco and realizes that the detective has lost Sofia. Sofia meets with Jack on a street corner. He apologizes as Monty walks over, drawing a gun. Jack tells her that he ran through his trust fund and needed the money, and he hooked Paul up with Monty. Paul got greedy and refused to deal, and now Sofia is a loose end. He walks away as Monty takes Sofia's phone when Reese and takes her to his car. He plays the video and asks if she showed it to anyone. When Sofia says that she didn't, Monty prepares to shoot her but Fusco arrives, breaks the car window, and holds Monty at gunpoint. Monty grabs the gun and disarms Fusco, who shields Sofia with her body. Before Monty can shoot, Carter and Reese arrive and ram Monty's car with them. The two officers haul Monty away while Reese makes sure that Sofia is okay and then says that he's going after Jack. Jack is at his penthouse making travel arrangements when Reese breaks in and dangles Jack over the edge. Jack insists that Monty was behind it all and asks if it's a shakedown. Reese tells her that it's a breakup and calls Sofia out. Sofia says that he killed her own friend and set her up to die, and Jack insists that he knew she'd be okay because she had Reese. She doesn't believe him and tells Jack that it's over. As the police take Jack away, Sofia tells Reese that she's returning to Brazil with her father for the election. She asks if Reese would consider relocating but he says that New York is his home. At the station, a CIA agent comes to see Carter and ask if she had contact with Snow. Carter says that it's the CIA's job to keep tabs on Snow and reminds her that Snow's partner Evans turned up dead five weeks ago. Hersh calls the Special Counsel and says that he dropped by the morgue and found something on Corwin's body. As he looks at the chip he took from Corwin's arm, he warns his superior that they have a big problem and says that he'll be there as soon as he can. Snow is in a basement apartment and meets with Kara Stanton. He assures her that Corwin is dead and that he doesn't know who told her to send Reese and Kara to China. Kara tells Snow that he'll have to run a few more errands for her. He opens his shirt, revealing the explosive pack that she attached, and says that she's in a class of her own. Kara warns him to be careful so that she doesn't forget him and walks away, locking him in. Finch puts up the file on Root as Reese comes in and suggests that they should get a beer. He tells Finch that things there can wait and they go down the street with Bear. Production Notes *This episode features the first appearance of an updated title sequence, which simplifies Finch's description of the show's premise, and includes Carter and Fusco more. *The overhead scene of Paul Romano being thrown through a window is actually a mirror-image of Rick Morris being thrown through the window from the end of , although the ground shown underneath is different. *This episode includes uncredited appearances of Elizabeth Marvel as the dead Alicia Corwin in the morgue and Jay O. Sanders as Special Counsel on the phone with Hersh. Bloopers and Continuity Errors *The date on the news reports about the candidacy of Sophia's father is September 10, 2012. This appears to be a continuity error as the events in the episode take place roughly one week after Root abducted Finch: **Finch is still wearing a bandage on his hand after Root cut him. **Alicia Corwin's body has been in cold storage for one week as stated by the morgue employee. **Carter tells a CIA agent that Tyrell Evans had been found shot in a hotel room five weeks earlier. Music *"Titanium" by David Guetta feat. Sia - During the first dance club scene. *"Say My Name" by Porter Robinson - During the second dance club scene. *"She's Long Gone" by The Black Keys - End of episode. Trivia *Fusco uses a picture of his son as wallpaper on his phone, and has Harold Finch in his contacts listed as "Mr. Good News." *The newspaper article about the death of Paul Romano was written by Maxine Angelis, the person of interest of the fifth episode "Bury the Lede". She also wrote the article about Denton Weeks being promoted which Fusco found in . *Carter's photo of Mark Snow is actually a screenshot from Blue Code. The other man in the picture is L.O.S. Clips Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - Slight Complication|Slight Complication Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - Sorry Babe|Sorry Babe Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - You're Hired|You're Hired Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - Had Enough Fun?|Had Enough Fun? Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - This Is A Break-Up|This Is A Break-Up Video:Person of Interest - Person Of Interest - You Can't Stop Me|You Can't Stop Me es:Masquerade 203 203